Thursday 15th August, 2013           1900

A power cut during the night saw me waking slightly damp this morning. It was restored at about 0830 but despite my feeling the need for more sleep there was nothing doing.

Instead I decided to go to town to close my bank accounts with Sonya and do a little shopping. As I went to take my bike off charge a thunderclap boomed out. The sky was ominously black and momentarily I chewed over whether to forget the trip. I looked towards the city and the skies were clear so off I set. Within a mile of home it started spitting, nothing serious enough to warrant breaking out the cape and I thought that just maybe I could outrun the clouds and weather the storm downtown from a position of shelter.

I did beat the rain but it was hot on my heels and the thunder was ear-splitting. At one point a bolt whizzed down maybe 20 yards behind me and I swear it hit a lamppost - the crack of thunder from that one almost blew my eardrums out. There though, the storm appears to have stalled for the rain never made it to town at all. I am sure many were praying for a deluge as we are experiencing a drought very similar to that during my first summer here. The lakes are very low indeed and the farmers are digging little gulleys in the dirt tracks (murder on the bike if you don‘t know they are there) in which to lay hoses to transfer water from the bigger to the smaller ones via portable pumps.

My accounts cancelled and having received 40y I never knew was in them (and expecting to have to actually hand over money), I went shopping swiftly and headed home. Nearer base the clouds were still there but only the odd drop was falling and more importantly the temperature had cooled considerably. However, when I got home I discovered the storm had been so violent - albeit brief - it had knocked all the power out for the area. Great. After twenty minutes of sweating indoors I took the dog and sat outside the sweet pork place. It was after six when the electricity reappeared.

Whilst shopping I bought a small overnight bag. The cheapo laptop bag I bought is fine but the front pocket managed to come adrift from the rest of it while I was in England after just one week of use. Anyway, it’s something I have found myself needing on the odd occasion, travelling with a carrier bag isn’t ideal and this one should last longer, having cost 109y. I shall now go and start to put a few things in it ready for Saturday’s excursion - camera included!

Friday 16th         1600

I met Angela again today over lunch at the Lotus Bloom and near the end mum and dad came in order to pick her up. As we hadn’t quite finished what we planned, we continued, but afterwards mum asked (via daughter) if she had shown any improvement. Eh? After three sessions? No I said, and please tell your mum if you don’t score 6.5 in Hefei it won’t be the examiner who beats you but yourself  and your lack of confidence. Mum smiled and said not 6.5 but 7!!! I do hope Angela translated correctly my response that to expect me, in two weeks, to increase 5.5 to 7 was utterly unrealistic - 6.5 will be a huge achievement in itself given the timescale.

After we finished I went and did some more shopping, including trying to buy more cigars but the latter was utterly fruitless. As I will run out tomorrow night I have sent Qing a message asking her to take me somewhere in Tongling I can buy some. Considering the damned things are manufactured in this province it shouldn’t be too much to expect them to be readily available, should it?

That’s it for a few days. I am not humping the laptop with me - bad enough having to take Pepsi to the vet on the bike without loads of baggage - so I shall be internet free for most of the weekend. I might even finish reading a book I started a year ago!